XP over and out

[Dark61]

who's still running XP and will you continue to run it or rush out and buy a new machine?

I was thinking of upgrading this computer to Windows 8 but half of my programs would then be defunct.

Not sure what to do.

Any ideas?

D

[33chinacars]

Going to run XP for as long as I can. 12 - 18 months I think

[mikehzz]

XP isn't going to die and stop working. If you haven't got auto updates turned on then you won't notice any difference. All that is stopping is windows updates for it. The scare mongering that is going on is quite comical....there are evil hackers circling your xp computer ready to eat you...after whatever the April date is of course. It's called generating sales. :D

[Dougal]

Yes running xp on 2 computers still. No plans to change or update them.

[Dark61]

Thanks for that.

I'm thinking I'll approach it on the same basis I deal with the Doctors. Don't do nothing until it turns black and is about to fall off.

D

[Dougal]

Thanks for that.

I'm thinking I'll approach it on the same basis I deal with the Doctors. Don't do nothing until it turns black and is about to fall off.

D

Except for windows it all turns blue when there's a big problem.:angel:

[s7000]

Isn't it just the support that stops?

Even on W7 I don't require their support...

[theresanothersteve]

Isn't it just the support that stops?

Even on W7 I don't require their support...
Yes, its the support that stops. By and large this means updates or hot fixes.

So, when M$ find a vulnerability, they fix it. They won't be doing that for XP. While the bad guys will not be looking explicitly at XP, due to its dwindling use, they will try exploits for later systems to see if they'll bear fruit. (As an aside I am running Windows 98 virtual machines, out of nostalgia, and they still work just fine).

The biggest issue will be peripheral support. Manufacturers just won't bother to write drivers for their gear that allows it to be used with XP. Some drivers (written for supported OSs) might work, some won't.

Although most people with XP have all the software they need, its likely new programs won't work either. This might be because of the OS, or the hardware spec of machines still running XP. Open source software will likely be the only option as it tends to have a smaller footprint than the shrink wrapped stuff.

If your XP box is still doing a job there is no reason to abandon ship...

[lewy]

Our office still has quite a few xp's in use,The problem we are having is that the original hard drives are now nearly to small to handle the new software we use.Xp is fine for general office work.

[Distortion]

Moved away from XP a while ago, avoiding windows 8 for the moment and sticking with Win7 and Linux.

Have a couple of bits of software that still need xp but I just use a XP VM for that.

Only concerns I have around XP are the people using it in a business environment. Bets on it not going well for the business if the old xp machine results in customer data being exposed due to unpatched vunerabilities.

For home users it's going to be device support that kills it off eventually.

[JohnF]

Yesterday Keith, who wrote the first computer programs for what is now Telstra, and now uses the Forbidden Fruit [Apple] :D , told me that one local shop is now selling XP that will run on a Apple Computer.

Though my HP Mini Laptop that has just Crashed [messages me, the fan is not working, and wont start] uses Windows 7, I definately prefer XP and will go back to it.

For Microsoft Word & Powerpoint I use the 2003 version. Do not like modern versions of these programs. I have never found a program I want that will not run on XP. The latest version of Linix as a seecond operating system on your computer may run programs that will not run under XP.

[JohnF]

Our office still has quite a few xp's in use,The problem we are having is that the original hard drives are now nearly to small to handle the new software we use.Xp is fine for general office work.

So either add an external harddrive, or put in a larger one.

[AndyG]

Will be fun in China, massive XP population, mostly pirated, so no updates or patches. Imagine MS will offer them a bulk discount. At one point China was all hot for REd Hat Linux, but that seems to have gone quiet.

[Dougal]

How about all the industrial PC's running embedded winxp? Robots, pumping stations, etc etc.

Until embedded XP these were running embedded win98. I had the displeasure of working with these as late as 2006. Brand new machines shipped with embedded win98.

[Distortion]

No difference what so ever. End of life applies to them same as anything else.

From memory some releases of win xp embedded one release in 2005 and another in 2008 have an EOL of 2016 and 2019 respectivly

regardless the xp embedded tend to be very different from xp you have on your computers with a greatly reduced set of services running which in turn reduces the potential vuneruablities

[85 county]

ok did the compatablity thing, chuged away for an hour or so,
then i got do i wish to upgrade. clicked ok

not avalable in your country. ok so MS has never herd of australia then.


the arguments same same as when 95 came out, my dos programes will not run etc etc

[Dougal]

No difference what so ever. End of life applies to them same as anything else.

From memory some releases of win xp embedded one release in 2005 and another in 2008 have an EOL of 2016 and 2019 respectivly

regardless the xp embedded tend to be very different from xp you have on your computers with a greatly reduced set of services running which in turn reduces the potential vuneruablities

End of life?
Nope, it's end of support from M$.

I can see industrial users getting really ****ed at having to completely overhaul the operating systems in only 10 years.

[Distortion]

Yeah I get that is a ****ty situation and a complete waste

End of life is simply the term given. In sitatuations where some forms of compliance are required End of Support = End of Life particularly when it comes to computing software/hardware in a commercial environment.

I guarentee a company whose pumps/robots failed because of bugs/failiures in software/hardware that is outside of Support/End of Life by the vendor will really regret not keeping their gear up-to-date. Most companies will factor this all in however and if they haven't the person responsible for acquiring the gear didn't do their job correctly

[Dougal]

The problem with industrial hardware is you usually get no choice of operating system.
Brand X robots comes with Brand Y operating system. The computers which run this software are embedded into the electrical control system. There is no quick and complete interchange as there is in an office or home environment.

It's never a case of a system failing because the operating system is out of date. It's however a huge problem to keep everything in a plant on a consistent system. If you replace one unit and it now has a completely new operating system then stuff gets messy really quickly.

I can see M$ strategy here driving many more industrial systems towards linux or even simpler PLC systems with no third party operating system.

[mikehzz]

Embedded systems probably never update at all unless done by a visiting tech "upgrading the software". Having seen the chaos caused by failed updates I hope so. Many embedded systems aren't even connected to a network and are pretty much a one trick pony.
Of course the manufacturer can use it to squeeze more money for new equipment out of you....

[Dougal]

Apart from all the embedded systems providing remote diagnostics and live data.

The win98 embedded systems didn't appear to be intended for live connection. One of my tasks during development was to pull the previous day/night log file from the robots onto a laptop and email it back to the office.

Upgrading embedded win98 to embedded xp was a problem as the hardware was obselete. We were literally hunting through office computers looking for compatible but faster processor chips which we could plug into the dedicated mother-boards.
We did find some.